How much does coming from a non-target hurt you in the long-run in IB?

So as we all know coming from a non target and landing a job in IB is pretty fking tough, due to obvious reasons such as lack of OCR, lack of networking etc. I'm interested to know that if a non-target student somehow lands a job in IB, how much will the fact that he/she comes from a non-target hinder them for the rest of their careers? Will it potentially have a heavy impact on assocate promotion/PE recruiting/other potential exit opps?

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I don't think it does at all. While some of the Ivy league schools have this bubble of pedigree that people love, I, being from a non-target and working with non-targets, have come to understand that at the junior levels (analyst-associate-vp) you are judged by the quality and timeliness of your work and your professionalism and maturity (this is something senior bankers care about and notice). I could be wrong but this is what I've found.

Dayman?
 
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Once you land a job in banking, I don't think your school matters that much with respect to how you're treated and whether you will be promoted. The bank I worked at had some awful analysts from places like Harvard and some incredible ones from non/semi-target schools. You will be judged based on your performance, attitude, and personality (well, depending on the culture of your firm).

With respect to PE recruiting, I think it makes a bit of a difference. Some funds do seem to care a lot about pedigree (e.g., Crestview, H&F) although once you land an interview, I don't think there's much of a difference, if any.

For the absolute top business schools (HBS / GSB), your undergrad school matters more than you'd think. All things equal, the guy from Princeton is going to have a clear edge over the guy from Rutgers. 23% of the HBS 2020 class secured an Ivy League degree. The guy from Rutgers can still get there but it's going to be a much harder hill to climb. Keep in mind that many people would argue that the value of an MBA is significantly lower now than what it was 20 years ago.

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Does how much of a non-target you are matter for HBS/GSB? I go to a non-target which still has representation in IB (BU, Fordham, non-stern NYU). How hard would it be for someone to move to a top MBA from these schools?

 

I'd assume there's some sort of positive correlation between relative quality / strength of undergraduate institution and probability of admission. All else being equal, Yale will give you better odds than Cornell. Cornell will give you better odds than UNC. UNC will give you better odds than BU. BU will give you better odds than Iowa (you get the point). I'm not sure if there's really a good way to quantify this (you could look at students matriculating by school but I don't know if they release data on the comparable number of applications submitted).

That doesn't mean it's not doable. I mean, getting into those schools is hard enough as it is from places like Harvard and Yale. HBS/GSB take people from all sorts of schools. HBS admitted 4 people who went to the University of Kansas in its 2020 Class. Anything is possible. A great school does wonders but a killer GPA / GMAT score, good work experience, and solid essays/letters of recommendation can help you close the gap. At the end of the day, there will also always be an element of luck involved (unless you're one of Lloyd Blankfein's kids).

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How good does Penn State’s Nittany Lion Fund place beyond the analyst years for IB? There placement out of undergrad is really impressive but how is it for PE/HF/corporate finance/other exist oops after IB?

 

Definitely matters, but not necessarily in the ways you may think. As a junior banker, it doesn't matter at all once you get the job - your work is judged by its quality. For getting an offer on the buyside it definitely matters, but is one of only many factors affecting who gets an offer (bank / group, SAT score, HH meeting, connections (which sometimes come from school), etc.). For B-School, it 100% matters but again is only one of many factors.

Longer term, it can matter a lot. Making partner at a PE firm heavily depends on connections and internal politics which tend to benefit those from great schools, and at that point the job is a lot less tangible in determining work quality. If you look at the upper ranks at virtually any PE firm or hedge fund, people come from top schools (possibly a majority from HYPWS and other ivys + UVA). Once again, it is not the end all be all, but it helps

 

How much does getting an MBA from a top school offset your undergrad school name? Can you still make partner at a PE firm if you're able to rebrand yourself with an MBA?

 

The Ivy ones also tend to be the ones who end up at the top and start their own firms.

 

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